The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Warrant: Priest groomed, abused two Danbury boys
DANBURY — A former priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe church groomed two boys over four years, sexually assaulting one of them and inappropriately touching the other after ingratiating himself with their families, court documents reveal.
The Rev. Jaime MarinCardona turned himself in on Jan. 3 after a warrant was issued for his arrest late last year charging him with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to child and three counts of illegal sexual contact.
Court documents allege the 51-year-old Catholic priest abused one of the boys for four years, starting in 2014 when his victim was 12 — the same year MarinCardona came to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Danbury after serving at St. Joseph church in Norwalk.
The victim, identified only as John Doe 1 in court documents, told police MarinCardona “reached over and rubbed” his hand on the boy’s groin over his clothes while he was pouring him a cup of water before Mass, according to the arrest warrant.
Marin-Cardona became friends with the boy’s mother during her divorce and visited her home regularly, the warrant states — eventually becoming the victim’s godfather.
In 2015, the church investigated Marin-Cardona, a native of Columbia, after a complaint was made “indicating he had become ‘too close’ to” the older boy’s mother and her family, a diocese official told police.
The priest was “counseled and advised to change his behavior,” the warrant said.
In 2017, he was transferred to Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and St. Mary Church in Bridgeport, diocese records show.
Brian Wallace, spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport, said Marin-Cardona was transferred because two churches in Bridgeport needed a Spanish-speaking priest.
“That was the primary reason he was moved,” Wallace said.
The church investigated Marin-Cardona and found no abuse allegations in 2015. He was also re-trained on church policies, as is normal practice when someone commits what the church calls a “boundary violation.” Parents are also taught how to spot signs of abuse in these cases.
“It’s not like it’s swept under the carpet or we don't take it seriously,” Wallace said.
Between 130 to 180 people attend Mass regularly at Our Lady of Guadalupe, and parishioners have been encouraged to speak to the diocese about concerns or questions, said a woman who works at the church but declined to give her name.
“It’s not much we know about it because we’re not close to the actual situation, not even the priest because he left three years ago,” she said.
Police learned of the abuse in September after investigators were contacted about Marin-Cardona by the diocese. An official there told police they had received a report of “boundary violations” and “possible ‘grooming’” of two children by the priest, the warrant said.
Both boys were interviewed by Family and Children’s Aid in October, but neither said Marin-Cardona had sexually abused them.
But in an interview with police days later, MarinCardona admitted to touching the older boy on his groin.
He also told detectives he touched a younger boy on his buttocks once when sitting with him on the couch while his mother made coffee.
The younger boy’s mother told authorities Marin-Cardona “became very controlling and aggressive” when he messaged her, and she felt he only wanted to be around when her son was at home.
Marin-Cardona told her he wanted her son to attend “private lessons” when he started his confirmation classes because he was “special,” she said. He also asked to be the boy’s godfather, even after the mother refused to allow it.
The older boy eventually told investigators how on other occasions Marin-Cardona tried to touch him while they were playing soccer, the warrant said. He also said the priest shoved his hand down the boy’s pants when he was 14 or 15 years old to touch his groin.
A church official said she once saw Marin-Cardona “walking alone” with the older boy at the Danbury Fair Mall. When she called out to him, the boy walked away, and Marin-Cardona later called her to ask her for a “favor” — to “not tell anyone about seeing him in the mall” with the boy.
In another incident, when the boy was 16, his mother went to his school to pick him up and could not find him, the warrant said. After filing a missing person’s report with police, her son arrived home.
His mother eventually learned he had been picked up from school by MarinCardona.
The boy later told investigators he had gone to Dunkin Donuts with the priest, and while they were in his car, Marin-Cardona reached over and touched his thigh and started to “slide his hand up.”
When the boy’s mother called Marin-Cardona to find out where her son was, he lied and told her he didn’t know, the affidavit said, before dropping the boy off near the home.
Around the same time, the boy told investigators, the priest would secretly give him Juul pods – e-cigarette pods – hiding them in the family’s mailbox where the boy would find them after school.
The older boy’s mother eventually forbade him to have further contact with Marin-Cardona, and sent him to live with relatives out of state.
Despite that, the boy told investigators Marin Cardona continued to email him, and send him money. When his mother found out, she said she confronted the priest and told him to stop, but he continued to send money under a “fake name,” the warrant said.
The younger boy’s mother told police she began taking her son to a therapist after his interview with investigators. He “has become very shy and introverted and is reluctant to talk with her about anything.”
Wallace called the church’s safe environment's program one of the most “vigilant” in the country, noting the policies worked in this situation. It was the diocese that alerted police and the Department of Children and Families to the issue.
“This is a pretty good example of being attuned to things,” Wallace said. “We investigate everything.”
The diocese maintains a database of priests they say have been credibly accused of abuse.
Marin-Cardona was held on $500,000 bond, court records show. His passport was seized, and he was ordered to have no contact with the two victims or any child under the age of 18.
He was also ordered to be monitored by GPS, and provide authorities with his address in the event he posts bond.
Marin-Cardona continues to be on administrative leave, which is a fairly permanent status that means he cannot act as a priest.
“When the bishop issues an administration leave, I’m not aware that any of them have ever been reversed,” Wallace said.
But the bishop could laicize Marin-Cardona, which would formally defrock him as a priest.
“The laicization process, if in fact that’s what diocese moves ahead with, I think would be fairly prompt,” Wallace said.